Steve discusses how we can learn about the insides of stars by observing their surfaces, and how the Kepler Space telescope is the perfect instrument not only for finding extrasolar planets, but also studying oscillations on the surface of stars. We also talk about how the K2 mission is allowing us to do great science after the failure of a reaction wheel ended Kepler’s primary mission.

Edwin talks about his work modelling water geysers erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, the best astrobiology experiment in the solar system, and just how much data we have on the surface features and atmosphere of Mars.

We were visited by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered pulsars during her graduate studies in the 1960s. She talks to us about the still highly active field of pulsar astronomy and her varied career since their discovery. We also discuss her tireless advocacy for women in physics and astronomy.

We talked about exoplanets, detecting exoplanets through measurements of radial velocities, and what we can look forward to from this field in the near future. The two websites mentioned during the podcast are exoplanets.org and the Habitable Zone Planet Finder.